Hydration Safety in the Workplace: Tips to Maintain Hydration Safety

Do you struggle with consuming eight glasses of water daily? If yes, remember you are not alone. We all have neglected the mere act of hydrating ourselves at some point or another. Our professional lives often become overwhelming. The result is missed breakfasts, sleep deprivation, and dehydration at our workplace.

Did you know that a whopping 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated? Dehydration is a frequent cause of hospital admission, too. Besides, it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality on its own.

Hydration is the body's way of absorbing the vital liquid it needs—water and depends on its availability. Proper hydration is one of the critical elements of a balanced diet. Staying hydrated by consuming adequate fluids is crucial for maintaining proper bodily functions.

Hydration is an intrinsic part of overall employee health. Hydration has been a buzzword in the fitness and skincare beauty industries for decades.The time is ripe to consider making it inevitable in the workplace today.

Why is Hydration Important?

It is no novelty to say that water is the magic potion your body needs. Yet, it is becoming increasingly challenging to meet the daily requirement of consuming 3 liters of water. Water makes up 60% of the human body; without it, we cannot function properly.

You have probably heard the advice to consume eight glasses of water daily. It's simple to remember and a realistic objective. When thirsty, healthy individuals can maintain proper hydration by drinking water and other fluids.

However, evidence-based hydration guidelines are yet to be adopted. Cultural differences on the matter exist across countries. Here, religious beliefs, traditions, preferences, and beverage availability are factors that count.

Eight glasses daily could be sufficient for some, while others may need more or less. Hydration is necessary for a wide range of functions in the body. Here are a few examples:

Moreover, it aids in improving sleep quality and brain function.

Hydration Safety and its Significance in the Workplace.

You could be incredibly diligent about hydration at home, but the situation at work is quite different. It is often easy to overlook our workplace health and dietary requirements. With urgent deadlines, endless emails, and time-consuming meetings, self-care takes a back seat. What's even easier is to forget to hydrate oneself properly.

That is why curating a hydration safety checklist and living up to it is crucial for office goers. So, what does hydration safety involve, you ask?
In medical terminology, Hydration Safety refers to achieving and maintaining a healthy fluid balance. This balance is critical for preventing dehydration and overhydration.

Dehydration Among Workers as An Underrated Hazard

Millions of U.S. employees dedicate countless hours every day to ensuring corporate competencies. On average, we work around 1,892 hours per year. It is only natural for that much dedication and hard work to build up some severe thirst.

Simply put, when the body loses or uses more fluids than it consumes, it is dehydrated. This can lead to insufficient water and other fluids for proper bodily functions. Thus, you are dehydrated when your body cannot replace lost fluids.

Research reveals that chronic dehydration hampers cognitive function. It affects reaction times, focus, memory, and productivity. Mild dehydration can also cause symptoms such as a slight headache or listlessness.

However, if severely dehydrated, it could contribute to potentially life-threatening conditions. Medical emergencies like hyperthermia (heatstroke) or a medical emergency are common among them.

A lesser-known cause of dehydration in the workplace is air conditioning. Air conditioning causes low atmospheric water content, increasing water loss through the skin and the lungs.

This lack of hydration can result in conditions that affect productivity. We may experience loss of concentration, headaches, and tiredness. Staying hydrated is thus crucial to avoiding these threats to productivity.

5 Signs of Dehydration

1. Dizziness

Dizziness is often the earliest sign of dehydration, alongside quenching thirst and dark urine. It results in a feeling of light-headedness, wooziness, and unsteadiness.

2. Headaches

Headaches are often attributed to stress, insufficient nutrition, and lack of sleep. However, by the day, it is suggested that dehydration can also cause headaches.

3. Sunken Eyes

Data suggests that office workers spend an average of 6.5 hours per day in front of computer screens or laptops. Therefore, dry eye syndrome is a common problem for office workers. Today, ophthalmologists suggest that dehydration can lead to dry eyes, among other things.

4. Rapid heartbeat

Do you experience rapid heartbeat even when your physical activity levels are low? This could often be a sign of dehydration from depleted electrolytes. When the body is dehydrated, the heart must work harder to pump blood around. Naturally, this can increase your heart rate and palpitations as it beats faster overall.

5. General Irritability

Even mild dehydration has proven to cause neurological changes that affect mood and focus and can lead to irritability. Dehydration might also increase the stress hormone Cortisol.

One of Vantage Fit's most popular features is the mood meter. It helps you track how your emotions fluctuate throughout the day. Check out how the mood meter could help you rule out dehydration from the list of factors causing emotional-mental blackouts.

4 Benefits of Incorporating Hydration Safety at your Workplace

Our workplaces demand us to be at our very best at all times. Given that, the least you could do for yourself at your workplace is to level up your hydration game. Besides the physiological benefits, staying hydrated has many surprising benefits for the mind.

1. Water enables your mood to remain more regular. Conversely, some people's sense of well-being drops because of low hydration. A refreshing glass of water is great for our bodies. It helps support bodily functions and improves brain health and mental resilience.

2. Hydration also aids in improving our focus, attention, and memory. While you may not prioritize workplace hydration safety yet, it is still essential to stay hydrated. Hydration is also the key to surviving heat waves, as we lose salts significantly.

3. Drinking adequate water brings several health benefits. These include improved brainpower, increased energy, and an uptick in mood. Adequate hydration is also linked to a healthy heart, weight control, improved digestion, and gut health.

4. Hydration safety equals fewer headaches and a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These factors improve workers' physical and mental well-being and ultimately enhance productivity.

7 Tips for Hydration Safety in the Workplace

Did you know our bodies are already dehydrated when we feel thirsty? What's more, you could potentially suffer some of the effects already. Therefore, drinking water before you think you are overwhelmingly thirsty is advisable.

Here are 7 Pragmatic Tips to Maintain Hydration Safety at your Workplace.

1. Early Morning Hydration

Foremostly, start hydrating in the morning to have a good day. If you know you'll be out in the heat or working in a cramped, hot environment, set yourself up with a hydrating breakfast.

2. Carry Your Own Hydration

Carry a couple of energy drinks or infusion bottles to your workplace on a regular basis. Make a smoothie or protein shake with fresh or frozen fruit. Top your internal water table with coconut water before the day begins.

3. Utilize Breaks

Give yourself frequent breaks amidst work and hydrate whenever you feel dizzy or have muscle cramps.

4. After Work Hydration

Hydrating after work is even more critical if you regularly work in a hot environment. Be sure to replace the fluids you lost while working.

5. Drink More and Often When Working in the Heat

When working in the heat, drink 8 ounces of water every 15–20 minutes. This translates to 24–32 ounces per hour. Drinking at shorter intervals is more effective.

6. Snack on Water-Rich Eatables

Munch on healthy snacks with fruits and vegetables rich in water. Some notable examples are kiwis, cucumbers, watermelon, zucchini, and pineapple. This will ensure you are full and hydrated at the same time.

7. Hydration as Self-Care

Remember that hydrating yourself at work and encouraging your colleagues to do the same goes a long way. Consider drinking water as a simple act of self-care at your workplace.

You might also like: Uncover the Pros And Cons Of Water Fasting

Ways to Make Hydration More Engaging for Employees

The general opinion regarding hydration among health experts is clear. A healthy, happy, and productive worker maintains proper hydration safety levels.

3 Steps to Level up the Hydration Game for Your Employees:

1. Understand the Hydration Levels of your Employees

The first step is to understand the level of hydration required by each employee. An easy and accurate way to gauge this is to take the body weight of each employee upon arrival and departure. Then, incorporate an overall awareness building around the benefits of hydration.

2. Curate Creative Challenges

Secondly, curate hydration safety challenges that are clear, fun, and achievable. These could be for both individual and team goals. Creativity in these challenges will ensure they are lasting and impactful.

3. Hydration with a Focus on Employee Engagement.

Thirdly, focus on employee engagement. Ensure the staff is involved in creating and implementing the water challenges. Reward them with colorful water bottles or infusion bottles. Encourage the most participation from your employees.

Vantage Fit’s Water Intake Tracker

Monitoring your daily water consumption ensures that you stay adequately hydrated all day long. By offering timely and relevant reminders to log your water intake, Vantage Fit empowers you to take control of your hydration levels. Vantage Fit's Water Intake Tracker allows you to log in to every glass of water that you drink. It also allows users to set reminders for water intake during the day.

Bottom Line

Workplace Hydration needs vary depending on weather conditions and the nature of work. An often-overlooked aspect of workplaces, hydration goes a long way toward delivering our best.

Adequately hydrating yourself every day is vital for optimal cognitive functioning. Hydration is an underrated but critical component of employee wellness. Making sure your employees drink enough water can enhance their physical and mental well-being.

Although water intake can be considered hydration, hydration can include other fluids. Replace the fluids that the body loses throughout the day with fluids from both food and beverages.

Are you looking for a way to make hydration as easy as possible? Of course, you are! Vantage Fit's water intake tracker feature offers just that.
Drink enough water to avoid the adverse side effects of dehydration, and stay atop your game! That's where the water intake tracker of Vantage Fit comes in handy.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do you Test for Hydration in the Workplace?

You may take a urine sample and compare its color to an eight-scale chart. Lighter or pale-colored urine generally indicates better hydration levels. Meanwhile, darker yellow or brown urine indicates dehydration.

2. What is the Best Indicator of Hydration?

Common indicators of hydration are plasma osmolality, urine osmolality, and urine-specific gravity.

3. What are Proper Hydration Levels?

The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have determined that adequate daily fluid intake is essential. They suggest about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) for men and about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) for women.

4. What is the Most Effective Re-Hydration Method?

You can rehydrate with oral rehydration solutions and water-rich fruits, in addition to water.